How to add new beef calves to a hobby farm for cheap

On Saturday we went to the Enumclaw livestock auction, one of my new favorite places. We never know what we will find and honestly, it’s an absolute blast.

There are many different kinds of animals and livestock there, at a really good price. Many of the purchasers are local restaurants and a large number of animals are immediately slaughtered after purchase. But on Dragos Farm that isn’t our style.

Beef Babies at the auction born In the last week.

We didn’t know what to expect for prices at the auction. When they were getting ready to bring the beef babies out we were so excited! We won the first calf out (our favorite, the strong white big calf) for just 50 dollars! Then we picked up the dark calf for 50 dollars…. and….. the last calf (the most energetic and happy of the bunch) for just 15 dollars! Hearts still beating hard, we strapped our new babies onto the truck with huge smiles.

We moved our goats out of their house for the moment to house these brand new babies. We got them settled in. Can’t believe how sweet and loving these babies are, they truly are large mammals and remind us a lot of puppies.

We tried to feed the babies an apple, but it’s not their favorite thing yet!

White calf looks like a puppy in this picture. None of us have ever fed a baby calf… and I will tell you it’s both adorable and MESSY! The barn is definitely not he place for your Sunday best! We bought reasonably priced calf milk replacement … about 70 dollars per fifty pound bag. That sure beats buying human formula!

The next morning we took the two babies out to graze and check out their corner of the farm. They pranced around for a long time, check out our Instagram for videos!

We are still getting to know our new beef calf babies, but we already love them! Great day on the farm and another big step towards getting our family food sustainable… and just 115 dollars for three calves that are capable for producing over 3000 pounds of meat. Happy to help with any questions you might have for doing this at your farm!